Ehsan Hashemi Seyed, Gök Haydar, Güneş Seçilay, Ateş Can, Kutlay Şehim
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye.
Department of Biostatistics, Aksaray University Faculty of Medicine, Aksaray, Türkiye.
Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2024 Jul 26;71(1):66-73. doi: 10.5606/tftrd.2024.14486. eCollection 2025 Mar.
This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of combined pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) treatment and physical therapy on pain, stiffness, and functional limitation in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
In this double-blind, randomized-controlled study, a total of 70 female patients with primary knee OA (mean age: 59.74±9.82 years; range, 40 to 80 years) were randomly allocated into PEMF and sham groups between March 2014 and July 2015. Both groups received 15 sessions of physical therapy over three weeks. Additionally, the PEMF group received PEMF treatment for 30 min/day, while the control group received sham PEMF. The patients were assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), and the Physician Global Assessment (PGA) scale before and three and seven weeks after treatment.
Regardless of the group, all patients' pain levels were significantly improved in both scales at three and seven weeks after treatment (p<0.001). The PEMF group had significantly less pain than the sham group based on the VAS score (p=0.003). The PEMF group had significantly lower functional limitation and stiffness at seven weeks (p=0.008). Recovery ratios based on the PGA score were significantly higher in the PEMF group both at three and seven weeks (p<0.05).
Patients with knee OA who receive PEMF therapy in addition to physical therapy have more pain reduction and physical improvement. Based on these findings, PEMF is a safe and well-tolerated treatment of choice in this patient population.
本研究旨在评估联合脉冲电磁场（PEMF）治疗与物理治疗对膝骨关节炎（OA）患者疼痛、僵硬及功能受限的疗效。
在这项双盲随机对照研究中，2014年3月至2015年7月期间，共70例原发性膝OA女性患者（平均年龄：59.74±9.82岁；范围40至80岁）被随机分为PEMF组和假治疗组。两组均在三周内接受15次物理治疗。此外，PEMF组每天接受30分钟的PEMF治疗，而对照组接受假PEMF治疗。在治疗前、治疗后三周和七周，通过视觉模拟量表（VAS）、西安大略和麦克马斯特大学关节炎指数（WOMAC）以及医生整体评估（PGA）量表对患者进行评估。
无论组别如何，所有患者在治疗后三周和七周时，两种量表的疼痛水平均显著改善（p<0.001）。基于VAS评分，PEMF组的疼痛明显低于假治疗组（p=0.003）。PEMF组在七周时功能受限和僵硬程度显著更低（p=0.008）。基于PGA评分的恢复率在PEMF组治疗后三周和七周均显著更高（p<0.05）。
除物理治疗外还接受PEMF治疗的膝OA患者疼痛减轻更多，身体状况改善更明显。基于这些发现，PEMF是该患者群体安全且耐受性良好的治疗选择。
